Muskoka Grown Pink Vanilla OG

Intro

Hey everybody, Squidpants here.  Today we’re checking out Pink Vanilla OG from Muskoka Grown.  The profile surprised me and sent me scrambling to find out the story of this plant.

Let’s get started!

Pink Vanilla OG

So what is Pink Vanilla OG?

If I had to guess, which I did at first as I wasn’t finding good intel for these genetics online, I would say the pink in the name doesn’t come from Pink Kush but in fact comes from Pink Cookies, aka Wedding Cake, since Wedding Cake tastes and scents far and away dominated.

If the internet had to guess, and they did but they sure acted like they had insider knowledge, this is a catchall label for any Cake dominant genetics that Muskoka Grown buys from different growers at different times.

If you contact Muskoka Grown directly and just ask them, which I did, they will tell you that it in fact has Pink Kush in its recent ancestry but more of a contribution from Kush Cake.  Further this is in fact sourced from only one grower (but is not an in house grow for them, this comes from BC).  This means if you end up liking it, contrary to what some forums would have you believe you can probably expect consistency across lots on future purchases.

Muskoka Grown

Muskoka Grown is based in and grows in the Muskoka region of Ontario, no surprise there.  They brand themselves as craft growers and processors of craft flower.  I have muttered to anyone who would listen for ages that until a standard definition is made then the word craft is just a marketing term, so take from that what you will.  They offer a fair number of varieties grown by themselves and other varieties they source from outside growers for their brand.

Packaging

They’ve gone for the old school tuna can style packaging here, interior flushed with nitrogen gas to keep things perfectly fresh.

Pros are no gas exchange, no oxidation, strong structure to protect contents and perfect light exclusion to preserve the cannabis.  Most of the container is recyclable but the label is not and so needs to be removed before recycling.  Also parts of the lid may not be recyclable where you are, check local rules.

Cons are the container is larger than it needs to be so wasteful of materials and also means the buds are getting smashed around a bit inside.  Further once this package is opened the first time it does let out humidity steadily so if you are using it over more than a day or two transfer to an air proof container.

The packaging date is the 13th of October, 2021 which is 85 days before I opened it.

Looks

Buds are a collection of smalls with a few medium buds.  Coverage is good and colour is deep indigo and quite impressive.  Structure on the larger buds is dense and bulbous.  The smalls are dense too, no larf was included.  Trim appears to be a machine trim judging by the visuals, though I was told it was hand trimmed.  If it is a hand trim, it’s a lazy and quick one that ends up maring what could have been a stellar presentation.  Yes there is some bag appeal here, but there are multiple compromises.

Feel

Very firm buds that take a lot of pressure to compress, but return is muted.  Humidity feels a little too high.  Grinding is just chewy enough to be satisfying but grounds have at best mediocre cohesion.  Rolling a joint was misery as there was no binding between granules, leading to a lot of the cannabis falling out the ends of the joint while I rolled.

Scent

Scent is not weak but not intense upon opening the package.  Unground the scents are quiet earths but dominated by sweet varnish.

Grinding does bring the same scents out a bit clearer with a little more intensity but this just isn’t going to fill a room.

Taste

Volcano:  First run and I am finally able to detect vanilla, which is in fact at the forefront.  Supporting notes are dough along with earths reminiscent of the OG contribution.  Intensity is not quite up to where I want it, but that’s always my complaint with Cakes.  The expected sweet lemon notes from the Cake are not present, nor the champagne and floral notes I would expect from a Pink Kush but higher intensity of earths along with hazelnut keep the profile complex.  Not bad, just not what I expected.  Again, if I was guessing I would think Kush Cake specifically.

Dries down through obnoxious cruciferous vegetables in a fascinating if not terribly friendly way, as the dessert flavours make their exit early.  Eventually the tastes settle into earthy hazelnuts on the exhale, which is a nice note to end on.

Joint:  Burns quite nicely and cleanly.  Flavours seem to skew to the citrus and the hazelnut is easily detected but no taste seems to have too much magnitude.  The end result is you have a joint that is easy to keep lit and smokes nicely but mostly tastes like smoldering plant.  Vaporizer is the way to go on this one if possible.  Unless you like the taste of campfire, I won’t judge you for it.

Price and Value

After tax this was exactly $35.00 for 3.5 grams from the Toronto location of Toke Cannabis.  Price per 100mg THC was $4.95.

As far as value goes I guess foremost it’s one of the more affordable Cakes.  I know I’ve paid more for a Cake derivative and gotten much worse, I’m just not in love with the tastes on this specific one when taken as a whole.  My tastes are mine and this isn’t a bad profile at all, it’s just not speaking to me.

I think it’s fair to say it’s not a typical Cake and might not be as accessible to a newcomer (I wouldn’t recommend it to Pancakenap’s grandmother) but if the quality is consistent then this isn’t a bad choice for your dessert cravings.  If the tastes are up your alley then you may like to pay it a few visits.

Conclusions

I didn’t hate what I saw, just would want less smalls.  I liked what I tasted in the Volcano even if I didn’t personally love the composition as a whole.  Quality wise this is pretty close to what I’d want to see for the price and honestly is better than what I usually see for this price tier.  If you are a fan of the cake lines, this is an interesting take on them.